Burger-geddon

It's on. It's more than stripy pants versus checker pants. As any reader of this blog knows, I am a dyed-in-the-wool Hi-Boy lover. But its time to give Big-Boy it's due. The Spooners headed to the one on 40-Hiway in sweet-sweet Indy, home to so many delicious dives.
The place itself froze in time mid 80s. That always a good thing.
We ordered a variety: burgers, tenderloin, fries, onion rings, tots, shakes and something wonderful sounding. A bacon-dog.
They should have called my burger the lettuce burger instead of the Big Boy. Bland. Tasteless, except for the lettuce. The tots were fine, and the shake okay. The onion rings could have been a little crisper, and the tenderloin was just sad.
The bacon-dog was the best thing, which isn't saying much because it wasn't that good. C'mon Big Boy, I wanted you to put up more of a fight. You got this rep to live up to. A history.
Victory to Hi-Boy.

Bonus: To top off this sad little adventure we went to Flea Mart down 40 a ways. Always on the look out for something kitchy, I was excited. It just got worse. They say the gates of Hell are disguised as places of misery, like the DMV and clown colleges. We found another. It was like a really expensive Salvation Army store. Expired meds and Conway Twitty albums anyone? How 'bout a Klingon knife?

Food: 2 Spoons, right out of the freezer to the fryer
Kitch: 4, I love the 80s
Price: 3, not too bad
Bonus: Bacon on a hot dog.

LOBITO'S Steak Burger?

I'm sad. So sad. I wanted to like this place. It would make 40 HiWay and Blue Ridge Cutoff the Golden Triangle of fabulous fast food, Hi-Boy, Dickson' Chili and Lobitos. Alas, it was not be. It was like Christmas day, where you're expecting a Red Rider BB gun and getting a sweater, instead.

Service, kitch factor (see photos) were 5 spoons easy. They had all the cheesy Mexican decor and creepy Easter bunnies. The lady that served us was super nice. I could see it broke Jacques's heart to tell her "No, I don't want the rest of my fish taco".

I ordered the Carne Asada. My steak was bland and tough. My beans bland and soupy. My rice was, ...well you get the picture. The steak burger was even so-so. Plenty of grub, but if I wanted tons of bland Tex-Mex I'd go to Ponac's (oh, snap!)

I'm sorry. I'm going to go lay down now.

Goooood...Good For You.

Hooooray We Made it into the Top 10 !

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Swensons- Akron Ohio

This aint no crappy Sonic. I married an Akron girl and she introduced me to Swenson's. An old time burger drive-in with car hops. The Galley Boy is the signature hamburger which was tasty with a hint of bbq sauce (a little too sweet). The menu is very extensive, sloppy joes ,pork tenderloins,fried chicken, deep-fried cheesecake. The rings were very good and I got an inside tip you can order the rings "chopped." They chop up the onions then dip'em for a fried treat easy to eat. A great selection of drinks the Whip is their signature beverage a minty light whippy shake. I think Akronites love it more for the memories than I do for the taste but I do admit its pretty damn good. I think the smell of the onions on my cheeseburger overwhelmed me and distracted me from enjoying it as much as I should have. Now the next time I go back to Akron I have to try Sky-way their local rival. All in all I give it 4 spoons

The Gaf

A quaint Irish pub.You know the type someone named Shamus boiling pork in the back . But what makes them special was the Curry Fries. No that's not my bad Chinese accent ordering at Arby's. I said Curry Fries - now listen up Voltron, they take delicious lightly  salted  fresh cut fries and add a bowl of curry sauce for dipping. Sweet with a little zing.  As Connie Chung once said "Maury these fries are making me moist." We also tried the loaded fries but they ruined the fries by adding too much gloop on them. Thats right I said gloop- Cheese,bacon,sour cream, one of shamus' fingers. So stick to the curry fries and have a pint on me.
3 spoons.

Gates BBQ

Yes, I know, its a Kansas City institution. That doesn't make it good.
I haven't been to Gates in years, and when a buddy wanted to go there for lunch, I gave an inner groan. Don't get me wrong, I always used Gates as a control if you will, when it comes to KC BBQ. Somewhere in the middle. The meat's okay, the sauce is so-so. Everybody else is either better or worse.
We went to the "original" location at 1325 East Emanuel Cleaver Blvd. It was clean and I didn't get yelled out immediately when I came in. Good start. The menu's a bit confusing for the uninitiated, and Gates has a long tradition of the ladies behind the counter screaming "MAY I HELP YOU?!!!!"
I ordered a beef sandwich, BECAUSE THERE WERE NO BURNT ENDS. No burnt ends at a BBQ place. Yes, they have them at other locations, but really?
$11. That's what I paid for a sandwich and a drink. No sides. $11.
My friends that ordered sides walked out paying almost $20. Twenty bucks for so-so BBQ? To quote Rudy Ray Moore, "Bitch, are you for real?"
The dining room was clean, the server very attentive and helpful. The food was, as I hoped against all hope being great, was just okay. There were a few other customers. I remember when the place was packed, but now that I know it's almost $20 to eat lunch, I understand why people aren't flooding in. I don't pay that much at a decent sit down restaurant.
2 spoons. That's all.

Chappell's

Someone should call the police because someone stole all the flavor out of this place.
A friend told me this is his go to place to take his  wife. I'm guessing  they  sleep with a sheet in-between them.  Wow don't go here.Walking in we were very impress of all the scratch up vintage football helmets adorning the ceiling. A warm cozy fire inviting us to sit and order some comfort food. Homemade mac and cheese anyone? How about (as they claim)  the best burger in town served on an english muffin with bacon? How can you go wrong with that? No seriously,  how can you mess that up it. The fries were even bad. It was like eating with a sock on my tongue. We saw the owner hanging out in the restaurant  I just wanted to shake him and yell "why  dear god why?"